Quaran-TV

[dolorosa_12]

Once we realised we'd be working from home, no longer have a commute (my commute to work is normally 45 minutes walking there and 45 minutes back), and have no opportunities for socialising outside the house, Matthias and I seemed to take this as a challenge to catch up on as much of our backlog of TV as possible. We had a really long list of Netflix shows that was banking up, and we kept adding to it. In addition, there have been films, new shows on free-to-air TV, and other things that we've watched.

In April, the watching log has included:



Quiz, a three-part drama about a British man accused of cheating his way to the million-pound prize in Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? (which at the time these events took place was a new, ridiculously popular, must-watch show on British TV, apparently). It was well acted, well written, and charitable and empathetic towards all involved. I have an uncle who used to write the questions for quiz shows (he won the Australian version of Sale of the Century in the late '80s or early '90s and was promptly hired to do the questions for them, which led to other work with different shows), and based on what I know of my uncle, the world of competitive quizzing (and the people involved in it) was accurately depicted in the show.

Stranger Things (Season 3). I have to admit that the nostalgia and surface gloss of this show is starting to wear a bit thin on me. I feel like it's coasting on charm — its plucky child actors, its gleeful evocation of every '80s pop cultural reference, the look and feel of things — and increasingly there's nothing there. It was nice to see all the characters again (apart from Hopper, whose arc and general interaction with most of the other characters really grated on me), but it felt a bit like milking a cash cow to me.

DEVS and Westworld (Season 3). I don't know if I'm just not in the mood for anything bleak at the moment, but I found both entirely tedious. I'm just sick of beautiful-looking, substance-free political/tech thrillers about evil genius tech billionaires taking things too far, messing with perceptions and reality, and doing dodgy things with people's data and redefining what it means to be human. Both shows look gorgeous, and both think they are a lot smarter than they actually are. If they get new seasons, I'm unlikely to watch.

Extra Ordinary. An absolutely delightful Irish film, which I would describe as an exorcism romantic comedy, set in suburban/rural Ireland in the early 2000s, and very much in the tone of What We Do In the Shadows. I loved it so, so much. It's on UK Netflix, but I can't guarantee it's available through Netflix in other regions.

Monsoon Wedding. This was a rewatch for me, to introduce Matthias to one of my favourite films, a lush, gorgeous story about a wealthy Indian couple getting married in an arranged marriage, and the various other romances taking place around them. It's beautifully shot, the soundtrack is amazing, and I have always found it really heartwarming and compassionate. It had a bittersweet note for me on this rewatch, because it was made in 2002, and the kind of India that it was talking about — one grappling with tradition and technology, and with religious and cultural pluralism, and looking forward with hope to a future that had space for all these things — seems to be very much on the wane in the face of religious nationalism.


We're currently watching the final season of Black Sails, the second season of Altered Carbon, and The Mandalorian. When we are done with those the third season of Sabrina, and Freud (both on Netflix) are probably next on the list.

Is anyone watching anything good?

Comments

[kore]

We really liked Discovery and Picard, loved the Expanse, and might rewatch Continuum, 12 Monkeys, Farscape, or some other old sf favourites. I'd like to watch a newer show, but I haven't heard about anything that reached out and grabbed me. Or maybe a Sense8 rewatch....

Monsoon Wedding is so good! I believe I first saw it as half of a double feature with Mississippi Masala.

[dolorosa_12]

I really enjoyed Discovery, although we watched it before the lockdown, and Picard was also something we watched recently. My husband watches The Expanse but I don't, and now I'm daunted by how many seasons I'd need to catch up with.

Rewatching old favourites sounds like the perfect activity, and I'd probably be doing the same if we didn't have such a backlog.

Monsoon Wedding is excellent — I hadn't watched it in years, and was really pleased that it seemed to hold up so well.

[ambyr]

Hopper in Stranger Things season 3 basically killed the show for me. The person whose Netflix subscription I was borrowing let their subscription lapse, and I have no drive to search for other means to finish it.

[rachelmanija]

SAME. I hated him SO MUCH. It was especially infuriating because I'd liked him before. Also he dragged down Joyce with him, and she was one of my favorites.

[dolorosa_12]

I totally agree. He was so awful in the third season that it was incomprehensible that Joyce could like him.

[dolorosa_12]

Yeah, I'm on the same page as you. It was as if the writers knew they had to give the characters some kind of tension and conflict to make their stories interesting, and the only conflict they could come up with for him was 'be an insensitive, controlling misogynist towards all the women/girls in his life'. It was awful.

[thawrecka]

I love Monsoon Wedding! It's so joyous.

[dolorosa_12]

It's pure happiness. I love it so much!

[geckoholic]

The movies look really interesting, I might look into them. Also, may I ask where you watched Quiz? I'd like to maybe check that out as well. :D

[dolorosa_12]

I watched Quiz through ITV here in the UK — one of the free-to-air channels. I would assume it's likely to show up on a streaming service at some point.

[geckoholic]

Ah I see. Thank you, I'll keep an eye out for it!